In December 2022, Tampa-area businessman Brad Galinson made a decision that many of his investment banking friends deemed questionable: purchasing a struggling English soccer team sitting at the bottom of League Two, the fourth tier of English football.
“Investment banking friends of mine said there are better ways to get a return on your investment. They said ‘are you crazy – do you know anything about football and by the way, isn’t it called soccer?!'” the 53-year-old Florida-based property tycoon recalled when speaking to local media shortly after the acquisition.
Today, Galinson stands as a prime example of the growing American influence in English football, with Gillingham FC becoming the 22nd team in the top four English tiers under U.S. control when he purchased his majority stake from long-term owner Paul Scally.
The takeover ended Scally’s 27-year tenure at the club, with the former chairman retaining a minority shareholding. When Galinson arrived, the historic Kent-based team was languishing at the bottom of League Two and facing the very real threat of relegation to non-league football, which would have dealt a devastating blow to a club that once competed in the Championship (second tier) between 2000 and 2005.
“Myself and my family are absolutely delighted to have completed the acquisition of Gillingham Football Club. It is a club with a rich heritage and a passionate, loyal fan base,” Galinson stated after the acquisition. His wife Shannon, described by Galinson as “the brains behind their business operation,” also joined the club’s board of directors.
Unlike many American owners who have focused on Premier League clubs, Galinson took a different approach, scouting multiple teams before finding what he considered the perfect match in Gillingham. The club wasn’t previously on his radar – he admits he “did not know of Gillingham before” being connected with the club in September 2022, having mainly followed “US teams, and the likes of Man Utd and the big guys.”
When Galinson arrived, Neil Harris was the manager, having been appointed in January 2022 during the previous ownership. With an estimated net worth of around $80 million, Galinson immediately set about strengthening the squad. The January 2023 transfer window saw the arrival of players like Ethan Coleman, Tom Nichols, Oli Hawkins, and George Lapslie, signings that ultimately helped the club preserve their Football League status under Harris’ guidance, finishing 17th in the 2022/23 season.
While not possessing the financial resources of some other club owners in English football, Galinson has demonstrated a willingness to invest in player recruitment, with multiple undisclosed transfer fees paid for new signings since his arrival.
His approach to ownership reflects a philosophy that places community at the center of the club’s mission. “Some owners lose sight that we serve the fans, the fans don’t serve us. The football club is the community,” Galinson explained. This perspective represents a stark contrast to the controversial European Super League proposal that several American-owned Premier League clubs attempted to launch.
Speaking about that failed breakaway competition, Galinson did not mince words: “It was dastardly Americans trying to ruin the English football pyramid system. It’s a horrible idea.”
One of Galinson’s first initiatives as owner demonstrated his community-focused approach. He introduced a “pay what you can” ticketing scheme for a match against Crawley Town, which sold out within 24 hours as most fans paid the minimum £1, though one supporter contributed £30.
In conversations with local media in Kent, Galinson has emphasized the interconnection between the club’s performance and the broader community: “As it goes better on the pitch the fans are more excited, they spend more in pubs, spend more in businesses, you can’t separate the two.”
Progress on the field has been more mixed than supporters might have hoped, in part due to significant managerial instability. Despite leading the team to safety in his first season under Galinson’s ownership and a promising start to the 2023/24 campaign, Harris was surprisingly sacked in October 2023 with the team sitting eighth in the League Two table, just one point off the play-off places. The decision shocked many fans, particularly given the team’s relatively strong position.
In explaining the decision, Galinson made it clear he wanted to take the club in a different direction, stating he sought a manager who would build a team that is “brave, courageous, takes risks, are front-footed, expansive, entertains and wins at the same time.”
After an extensive search process in which Galinson reported interviewing more than 20 candidates, the club appointed Stephen Clemence in November 2023. Clemence, who had extensive coaching experience as an assistant under Steve Bruce at various clubs including Newcastle United and Aston Villa, was taking on his first managerial role at Gillingham.
The Clemence era started with optimism but ultimately proved short-lived. Despite Galinson publicly backing his management team earlier in the season, Clemence and his assistant Robbie Stockdale were dismissed in April 2024 after just six months in charge, with the club on course for a mid-table finish. When addressing this second managerial change, Galinson described it as “an extremely difficult decision” but explained that “ultimately my responsibility is to the club and the community and to the fans.”
Following Clemence’s departure, the club moved quickly to appoint Mark Bonner in May 2024. Bonner, who had previously led Cambridge United to promotion from League Two in 2021, was brought in with Galinson stating: “He has the experience to get us to where we want to go.”
The Bonner era would prove to be short-lived as well. After a promising start to the 2024/25 season that saw Gillingham briefly top the League Two table in September, a dramatic loss of form followed with ten defeats in fifteen games. Following a 3-0 home defeat to Bromley in January 2025, Bonner was sacked after just eight months in charge, having won only nine of his 28 matches.
Continuing the pattern of managerial changes, Galinson appointed experienced 62-year-old John Coleman along with his assistant Jimmy Bell to take charge until the end of the season. Coleman brought extensive experience from his long tenure at Accrington Stanley, where he had achieved multiple promotions. However, Coleman managed just two wins in his 14 games at the helm before being relieved of his duties in March 2025.
In their most dramatic managerial move yet, Gillingham announced the appointment of Gareth Ainsworth as their new manager on March 25, 2025, with the 51-year-old signing a contract until the end of the 2026/27 season. Ainsworth, who had only been in charge of League One’s Shrewsbury Town since November 2024, brought his long-term assistant Richard Dobson with him to Priestfield.
The appointment of Ainsworth, who famously guided Wycombe Wanderers from League Two to the Championship during his decade-long tenure there, signals Galinson’s continued ambition and willingness to invest in experienced leadership. Having managed in the Championship with both Wycombe and briefly with QPR, Ainsworth represents perhaps Gillingham’s highest-profile managerial appointment under Galinson’s ownership.
Looking ahead, Galinson has been careful to set realistic expectations for the club’s trajectory, acknowledging that the turnaround will likely be a “two to five year process” according to an interview with ITV Meridian. His short-term focus has been on improving the fan experience at the aging Priestfield Stadium, with discussions about a potential new stadium deferred until after “a promotion or two.”
Despite the managerial instability and mixed on-field results, the arrival of Galinson has reinvigorated a fanbase that had grown increasingly disillusioned during the latter years of the previous ownership. Many supporters remain hopeful that the American owner’s vision for the club will eventually bear fruit and return Gillingham to higher divisions of English football.
For Galinson, who once faced skepticism about his decision to purchase a struggling lower-league English soccer club, the journey has been both challenging and rewarding. While the club’s frequent managerial changes reflect a determination to find the right leadership formula, they also highlight the difficulties of implementing a long-term vision in the high-pressure environment of professional soccer, where results are expected immediately.